Splitters
by a red burn
Summary: James wants to know about his father and Audrey has trouble dealing with her emotions. Audrey/James/Nathan. Post season 3 finale.


Notes: OKAY. So this isn't exactly what I think will happen, just one of the possibilities. I thought it'd be fun to play with the idea that, once Howard was hurt (dead?) and the barn obviously affected that maybe with no one in control all of Audrey's memories stored in there would somehow roam free without any sort of control. So the trio gets stuck amongst memories.

It's a simple one short post the finale because I wanted Audrey to suffer a little more obviously. And I wanted some Audrey/James with a side of Nathan.

Thanks Kate & Barbara for all the help!

_xxx_

"What's he like?"

Duke's ears perk up; his eyes flicker from the window to the two people huddled together on the worn out couch. He doesn't mean to eavesdrop but the small room they're in doesn't provide much privacy. Audrey is checking James' stab wound, making sure it's healing okay and James doesn't seem to shy away from her touches anymore.

"Nathan. My dad."

Duke stops at this and even as he tries to not pay attention he notices Audrey's hand falter and her eyes drop to the floor. He knows that as much as she tries to put up the strong façade, she's hurting, knows that she thinks about him every second of the day. He can see in her eyes and on her face the moment Nathan crosses her mind, and he does all the time.

Duke looks outside again, at the darkened sky, at the wind blowing so strong that he wonders if they'll be facing a tornado at any moment. He tries to focus on the storm raging outside instead of them, _of mother and son_, but Audrey's pained whisper still reaches his ears in an affectionate cadence as she talks about Nathan.

"He's the most patient person I know," she starts then the room falls into silence as she seems to gather her thoughts, to try and put in words everything she feels. "He's very loyal and honest and _so_ brave. He's very passionate about the things he loves, even though he's too shy to actually do anything." Her voice falters and he can feel the tears behind every word she says.

Duke pulls the curtain closed and turns to make sure she isn't crying and sees that while her eyes are red she's still able to keep the tears at bay. Audrey pulls James' shirt down, pats her hand above it gently and like a mother tries to straighten James' button up even though it's too wrinkled to make any difference.

"He is…." She frowns as if the words she wants to say are not quite right, and then smiles as if memories are filling her, playing behind her eyelids in images and feelings and smells. This is the most peaceful he's seen her since she left Nathan behind. "He's a wonderful person James and he'd have been an amazing dad. I wish you had the chance to grow up with him."

Duke feels a sharp feeling knife through his chest, tries to ignore the jealousy he feels, to pretend it doesn't hurt so much to know her heart belongs to someone else and will _never_ belong to him. He isn't stupid; he's past lying to himself. He's known for so long that any chances he's ever had with her were never real, that Nathan's always been the one, even before either of them knew it. He should have gotten a clue when he watched those two dance constantly around each other, watched the looks and smiles being exchanged without them even realizing it, when he realized that the trust they put in each other went way beyond the normal.

Sometimes when he stared at Nathan and Audrey together, the tension simmering between them, he could almost swear he saw two old souls instead of two newly acquainted friends.

"Anything new?"

In his reverie he didn't notice her approaching, so when he hears her voice he startles a bit but tries to cover it with a smile. "Nothing yet." He looks outside again, at the storm getting worse. "It's like it's just dormant. Whatever memory this is, I don't like it."

The barn had exploded in flashes of light. Duke had been sucked right in and twisted around until he found himself dropped to a murky ground, only to be shaken into an old smelly warehouse. He had found Audrey first, running on old pavements of a ghost town and had only time to grab her hand before they were both pulled into a snowstorm. They had found James shortly after, holding his side and coughing up in pain.

Duke has no idea what's going on, but he figured that, since Nathan had shot Howard and something had gone terribly wrong, that maybe the barn had been affected by the riot outside, causing all the doors of memories to be forced wide open, free to roam at their will.

"We have to figure out a way to go back, Duke. This isn't right, we have to fix this." She stops, bites her lips and finally says the words Duke knows she's been really thinking and worrying about. "We have to get to Nathan. He may be seriously hurt. If anything happens to him…"

It still hurts, especially when he's constantly faced with the love and adoration she feels for Nathan etched all over her face. But they'd at least always have Colorado. "I know." Duke takes her hand in his, squeezes it in comfort but knows that no matter how he tries to reassure her, nothing will ease the pain and hurt coming off of her in waves. "We'll figure this thing out. Don't worry. I'll take you back to him. Nathan's too stubborn anyway. He'll hold on until he sees you again."

Audrey smiles, squeezes his hand back, then releases it. She moves back to the couch, sits beside James and tries to reassure him with whispered words that everything will be fine. He hurts for her too, to know she's been stripped away from her child after he had been barely born. To once again be stripped away from someone she loves and wonders how much pain Audrey will have to go through before she can be happy.

Duke joins them at the ridiculously small living room. He knows they are stuck in a memory but he isn't sure whose. All they are sure of is that it's not Audrey's and this doesn't look like as if it could be Sarah's or Lucy's. It feels too old and too dark and too evil. As if it's the origin of something. They had been swept away from an old deserted Haven that had left Audrey in a panic for several minutes; they found themselves in the middle of an old forest just as the sun was setting. The cabin had been sitting in the middle of a clearing - old and broken as if it had been abandoned several years before. There's no power or running water but they had managed to find old oil lamps. The cabin is awash with flickering lights and dancing shadows and it only helps with the dark mood from outside.

"You look like him," Duke says, bringing his feet up on the small seat and tries to make himself at least a little comfortable. The words come easy; it's something he's been thinking about ever since he first saw James, something he feels the need to share, to start a conversation, to maybe give James _something_. The resemblance is uncanny. "Nathan, I mean. You look like your dad."

James smiles, as if that bit of information gives him some kind of comfort. He has his head resting on Audrey's shoulder, their hands laced together and Duke feels that stab again. It's weird to watch the scene in front of him, mother and son the same age, to be repeatedly reminded that Nathan got close to Sarah, that no matter what version it is, it will always be Nathan.

"I just don't understand how he can be my father. He wasn't even born in 1956."

Audrey clears her throat, and Duke watches the pink rise on her cheeks and wonder just what is running through her mind right now.

"He went back to the past." That's all she gives by way of explanation and the room falls silent- Duke ignoring the complications and James mulling that over.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" James breaks the silence, his voice rising above the sounds outside the cabin, the hint of worry filling the room in a thick cloud of tension.

Audrey nods, shares a look with Duke and he smiles at her in a silent reassurance. He isn't so sure himself, but Audrey doesn't need to worry about that for the moment. "Yeah, he'll be fine. He'll be waiting for us." Duke wonders if James can spot the lie in her words as easily as he can.

_I'll die before I let you go._

The words tear at his chest; the pain of losing what he never had makes him want to disappear sometimes. To try and win Audrey over no matter the cost, no matter what it takes. Then he remembers it isn't him Audrey looks at as if nothing else in the world matters, it isn't at him she gives the special smiles, it isn't him the one she loves – not like that. Nathan will always be getting this girl no matter the decade they're in.

"You look troubled."

Duke stares at her in a half smile. Troubled, yes, in so many ways. "Just thinking of a way to get us back."

Audrey steals a glance at James and confirms that his quiet breathing means he's indeed asleep. "I never told him I love him," she says in a quiet whisper and he can hear the regret bleed into her voice. "Not when he could hear it."

"You'll have time for that."

"What if I don't? I can't…" her eyes fill with unshed tears and this time she lets them spill over. "I can't bear to lose him again."

"You won't." He wants to go over at her, to hold her in a tight embrace, but doesn't. He stays put; his eyes move to James, makes sure their conversation hasn't awakened him. "You'll have your time with Nathan, I promise."

As much as it hurts him to hear those words, he knows that he'll do whatever is needed to make things right.

She loves Nathan and that's the simplest of truths - the uncomplicated, shortened version of her story. Audrey loves Nathan, and if Duke can't have her he'll make damn sure she'll get what makes her happy.


End file.
